Reflections on the Customary Laws of Benin Kingdom and Its Living Cultural Objects in the Discourse of Ownership and Restitution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13108643 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Oluwatoyin Sogbesan (0000-0001-8668-130X, Università Iuav di Venezia, corresponding author), Tokie Laotan-Brown (Università Iuav di Venezia) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 29-48 |
| Publication date | 2022-12-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Santander Art and Culture Law Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2391-7997 • E-ISSN: 2450-050X |
| Publisher | Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego (PUBLISHER • PL) |
| DOI | 10.4467/2450050xsnr.22.011.17024 |
| OpenAlex | W4313910011 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 12 |
The British punitive expedition of 1897 led to the theft and vandalization of the cultural heritage of the Benin kingdom. The plunder included more than 3,000 cultural objects made of bronzes, ivories, beads, and other objects, which were produced since the 1st century AD to commemorate historical moments, political transitions, and ritual purposes. This theft dishonoured the spiritual and ritual significance of these living cultural objects, and has turned them into museum artefacts. As international debates on restitution and the return of Benin Bronzes intensify, two pertinent questions which arise are: Who will be the custodians of the returned artefacts?; and How will they be conserved? In this article, we address these two questions through the lens of Benin customary laws and practices. We argue that within this local jurisprudence, the Emwin Arre– the living cultural heritage described above –belong to the Oba of Benin and should be returned to the royal Palace, where they will be preserved, protected, and shared with the present and future generations
Archaeology · Cultural heritage · Custodians · Jurisprudence · Political science · Politics · Punitive damages · Restitution · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African Studies and Ethnography · Anthropological Studies and Insights · History · Law
To Shape the Citizens of “That Great City, the World”
Looted Nigerian heritage – an interrogatory discourse around repatriation
Museums in the era of decolonisation
Display, Restitution and World Art History
Imperatives of the Present
The Origin and Development of the Guild of Bronze Casters of Benin Kingdom up to 1914
Casting Identities in Contemporary Benin City
Benin—Kings and Rituals
Studies of Benin Art and Material Culture, 1897-1997
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2023 (2) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |